


Hobby

by sailboatsupernova



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Legends - All Media Types, Star Wars Legends: Thrawn Trilogy - Timothy Zahn
Genre: Author Regrets Some Things, Characters Reading Fanfiction, Characters Writing Fanfiction, Delightful, Domestic Fluff, Early Work, Embarrassment, Established Relationship, Fluff and Humor, Humor, M/M, Mild Sexual Content, The Author Regrets Nothing, loving someone means you gotta put up with their weird shit
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-15
Updated: 2017-05-15
Packaged: 2018-10-30 14:30:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,486
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10878750
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sailboatsupernova/pseuds/sailboatsupernova
Summary: Pellaeon was just innocently minding his own business when he stumbled across a glimpse into what the Grand Admiral does in his spare time.





	Hobby

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Sithy](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sithy/gifts).



Pellaeon wondered just how many books Thrawn felt he needed as he skimmed through the Admiral's personal datapad. He had been flicking through a single data file for almost five minutes and he had only managed to glance over half of the titles. With a long sigh he set the pad in his lap and stretched his arms over his head. Joints popped, muscles stretched, and the Captain winced, lowering his arms to dig the palms of his hands into his eyes. The urge to glance at the clock for the fifth time after settling himself on the Grand Admiral's bed picked at him and he quickly gave in with a grimace.

It had only been about twenty minutes since his last time check and it would still be at least another thirty before Thrawn's meeting with a few of the Moffs ended. He groaned loudly, letting his head fall back against the wall behind him. Slowly, ever so slowly, Pellaeon was beginning to regret asking to stay out of the meeting. Sitting in on the meeting between the Grand Admiral and the Moffs would probably have been just as dull as sitting and waiting in reality, and listening to the other men complain endlessly about topics that really did not matter would have ended in Pellaeon strangling at least three of them he was sure. He smiled at the though despite himself, a smile that soon turned into a grin when he figured that Thrawn would more than likely let Pellaeon throttle the life out of a few of the self-serving men without batting an eye.

With a shake of his head he pushed the thought away and picked the pad back up. At least Thrawn had allowed him to borrow his database while he was gone. He wasn't expecting much though, and he had yet to be shocked. Most of the saved holonet searches were for different artworks - _surprise, surprise_ \- but after searching through a handful of files he eventually found the other man's novel collection.

A surprisingly extensive collection, with numerous works saved in files for every genre Pellaeon had ever heard of and some for a couple he hadn't. He glanced over the different files titled with each genre, scrolling through the lists. Swifter than he had hoped, he reached the bottom but something grabbed his attention - there was a file that he hadn't noticed before at the end. He frowned, staring at the file name. It was in a language he had never seen before, and after running it through a translator it came up as under "UNKNOWN". He selected the file almost immediately.

Book files popped up, although it is a much smaller list than he was used to seeing, only about seven stories popping up. The first few were titled in the same odd language of the file's title, but the ones that followed were in basic. He selected the first one he could understand, simply titled _Imperial Conquest_ , and settled back against the wall and pillows propped up behind him, eyes skimming the pages in front of him.

He was actually beginning to get into the story, skimming a few paragraphs here and there, and stopping to read the bits that seemed interesting. He wasn't exactly sure what the story was about - though Pellaeon supposed that's what happened when you _skimmed_ \- but he was about a third of the way through it when he very abruptly froze mid sentence and nearly threw the pad out of his hands. Maybe he had misread something, but no, no he hadn't misread anything he realized as he skimmed the same line. It was pretty hard to misinterpret a character shoving his hand down another character's pants.  _Porn, I'm reading porn._

Suddenly he knew a great deal on what this story was about and the title which had previously confused him (there were many Imperial characters but certainly no conquest that he could see - or rather _hadn't_ _seen_ ) made a lot more sense. Distantly, a part of his brain tried to piece together the fact that Thrawn had novels like _this_ on his personal datapad but quickly gave up. Another part also considered just shutting down the pad and going to sleep but he dismissed that. After all, it was just starting to get good. 

He had almost made it to the end of the novel, reading a passage that was as interesting as it was graphic when he faintly heard a door opening in the next room over. Pellaeon didn't even flinch at the sound of movement in the adjacent room, but did shift on the bed so his legs were pulled up. Out of the corner of his eye he saw the Admiral enter the bedroom and walk across the room to where a small table and a couple of chairs sat. Vaguely he heard the sound of one of said chairs being sat in, followed by a tired sigh and the quiet waterfall of liquid being poured into a glass. He went to the next page on the datapad, still reading furiously. "Good evening Gilad," he heard, followed by what sounded like a chuckle. "Find something you like?"

He didn't look up but he nodded slowly. "You could say that," he answered, hearing the odd tone in his own voice but not caring. He heard the glass being lifted off of the table and the smell of something strongly alcoholic hit his nose.

"Are you going to tell me what it is?" Thrawn asked, a faint tone of worry in his voice.

"Just a novel."

He heard Thrawn hum dismissively. "And it bothered you that much? Which one is it?"

Pellaeon for the first time felt himself blush since sitting down and he sucked in a long breath before he answered. "It's titled _Imperial Conquest_."

Silence stretched between the two for what felt like hours. Pellaeon somehow found the strength to tap for the page to turn in the crushing quiet. Finally he heard a soft "Oh," from across the room and he finally looked up.

"' _Oh'_?" Pellaeon repeated as he stared at Thrawn, who had at some point upon entering his quarters changed out of his white uniform and into an undershirt and a pair of dark civilian pants. "' _Oh_ ' is all you have to say about this?"

Thrawn shrugged in response and lifted his glass back up to his lips. "What do you want me to say?" He asked, not looking near as embarrassed as he should have been in Pellaeon's opinion.

"I don't know! Something, anything, maybe an apology for not warning me that you have--" he broke off, not able to say the words and he made a hand motion towards the datapad.

"Homosexual erotica?" Thrawn offered, arching an eyebrow.

" _Yes_ ," Pellaeon hissed, feeling his face heat up. " _That_ , on your datapad."

Thrawn slowly sipped at his drink, not looking away from his Captain. Pellaeon tore his gaze away from the obviously comfortable man, shifting his hips awkwardly on the bed. He could all but feel Thrawn watching him but he refused to look back up at him, already knowing that Thrawn would be wearing a smirk. "I have nothing to apologize for, Gilad, and you know it," Thrawn said, and Pellaeon could even  _hear_ the smile in his voice. "You're the one who continued to read it even after you realized what it was." The chair Thrawn was in groaned and Pellaeon glanced up long enough to see Thrawn shift his weight as he crossed his legs. "Where are you at?" 

Pellaeon felt that his face heat up even more but he dutifully skimmed the page he was on. With a sigh he tried to keep his voice calm as he spoke. "Well, the young Lieutenant has just agreed to pursue a relationship with the Captain and they have begun to... consummate it rather enthusiastically in the Captain's bed."

He heard Thrawn hum appreciatively and he looked over to watch the man take another drink from his cup. "That's a good part," Thrawn mumbled into the glass.

"So you've read it." 

Thrawn waved his hand dismissively. "Of course I have. I had to make sure it was acceptable for others before I sent it off to the publishing company."

Pellaeon opened his mouth to retort but paused, absorbing what he said. Closing his mouth in a hard line he looked back down to the story and back at Thrawn who was attempting to hide a smile behind his glass. For the first time Pellaeon noticed the evil glint in his eyes and his mouth fell open. He now realized why the narrator's tone had sounded so familiar. " _You_ wrote this?"

"Indeed I did, Gilad." He lowered his glass, seemingly unable to hide his smile at the other's indignation. "Tell me, is the quality up to par? I have never had the opportunity to speak to one of my readers."

Gilad gaped at the him, trying to put together the words he needed. "You actually wrote this - this _filth_?"

Thrawn raised a finger as he spoke, "Ah, _high quality_ filth, Gilad. _Imperial Conquest_ has barely been out a month and has already sold trillions of copies. And besides," He continued, letting his eyelids fall a bit. "Based on you're expression, I would say your enjoying that 'filth', hm?"

Pellaeon scoffed. "I am not," he replied and with a shake of his head. "I'm just... trying to wrap my head around this, is all. My commanding officer writes erotic novels and _I just read one_. Do other people actually read this? Stars, _please_ tell me you don't use your real name."

Thrawn made a face and Pellaeon suspected that he would have rolled his eyes if he were anyone else. "Of course I use a different name, what do you take me for? Yes, though, people actually read my works. I'm quite popular and my fan base is as vast as it is loyal. Besides, how do you think I am able to pay for my art?" 

Honestly Pellaeon had always feared that Thrawn had decorated his room and expanded his personal art collection with the Empire's budget, and while it was a relief to know that he hadn't, he wasn't about to admit that to his face. "I never really thought about it," he offered instead with a shrug. Thrawn gave him a look and downed the rest of his drink with one last swallow.

"You are the worst liar." He set his drink down on the table next to him and stood up. Pellaeon arched an eyebrow as he walked the short distance from the chair to his bed. Thrawn waved his hand at him in a 'move' motion. "Scoot over." The Captain followed his orders and shifted over so he filled the one half of the bed as Thrawn slide into the other half. Thrawn let his back rest against the wall behind them and sighed as he let his head rest against Pellaeon's shoulder. Pellaeon smiled and turned his head, brushed his lips against Thrawn's hair. They sat like that for a minute, just enjoying each other's quiet company. Finally Pellaeon glanced back to the datapad and read over the page before clicking for it to turn.

Pellaeon continued to skim quietly, and tried not to think about anything but the words on the screen in front of him. Thrawn did his best to not impede on that. He stayed still and never broke the silence that filled the room as Pellaeon read. He obviously knew that Pellaeon was nearing the end and had settled in to wait until Pellaeon finished. He didn't have to wait long. It was only a couple of minutes later when Pellaeon sighed and set the pad in his lap.

"Complaints?" Thrawn asked. 

"I assume you mean complaints other than that I just read smut written by my commanding officer?" Pellaeon asked sarcastically.

There was a pause of what Pellaeon guessed was thought before Thrawn replied, "Preferably."

Where to begin? "Well, for starters, the ending was rather unfinished. It just sort of _stopped_."

"That's because it did just stop," Thrawn replied coolly. "It's the first of a trilogy. I'm in the middle of the second one right now."

"Ah." Pellaeon nodded, trying not to let the feeling of embarrassment get to him as he slowly came to terms with discussing this. "What about the Lieutenant then?"

"What about him?"

"I don't know, he didn't really feel like a lieutenant. He was a bit too mouthy - brash, almost. I'm a little surprised the Captain just gave him verbal slaps on the wrist rather than just demote him." Pellaeon shook his head. "It just felt a little off."

"Sounds like someone else I know," Thrawn mumbled and Pellaeon scoffed.

" _W_ _ho_ do you know that acts like--" He froze mid sentence and his eyes widened. The lieutenant, always questioning his superior even when he didn't necessarily need too, constantly needing answers to his questions, almost to the point of insubordination. The calm captain was always cool with his reactions, usually either talking the younger Imperial to the answers he demanded or just calmly asking him to wait.

Holy stars.

Pellaeon straightened from his slouched position, and Thrawn flailed a bit due to his sudden loss of a support before regaining his balance. He shot a look at the blue skinned man, who was glaring back at him. " _What?_ " Thrawn demanded as he propped himself up on an arm.

"You based this _off of us_?" Pellaeon practically hissed, watching as Thrawn quirked an eyebrow.

"Oh please," Thrawn began calmly enough, but Pellaeon could see a hint of a smirk on his lips. "If you had read my author's note on the first page you would know that all likenesses to beings both living and dead are all purely coincidental."

"You're sick," Pellaeon said. He grabbed the datapad and held it up, poking Thrawn in the chest with it until the other man took it from him. " _Sick_ , Thrawn." 

Thrawn gave him a self-satisfied smile that made Pellaeon roll his eyes. He placed the pad onto the bedside table with a half-shrug before pressing Pellaeon back into his previous seated position with a hand. Once he was sat back Thrawn curled up against him once again, still smiling as he tucked his face into the crook of Pellaeon's neck. "Don't pretend like you don't enjoy it." 

Pellaeon lifted his arm and looped it around Thrawn's shoulders, tugging him even closer. "I enjoy _you_. You're insistence upon terrorizing me, not so much." 

"Mm-hmm. Well, perhaps I'll translate one of my other works to Basic for you then. I have one in Cheunh that errs more on the romantic side, perhaps you will like it better." 

"As long as it will not remind me that my CO writes smut that would be _fantastic_." 

**Author's Note:**

> I originally wrote this forever ago (forever being roughly four years) so if the writing seems super contrived or different from my usual stuff it's because I made the effort to not totally take it apart while editing. I had to click away from this while rereading it soo many times cause I'd get secondhand embarrassment at myself but I'd always have a smile on my face when I did because I was remembering how much fun I had while writing it. I wanted to archive that feeling. I wanted to keep a physical reminder that at some point I didn't care what people thought about my writing - if it was corny or bad or too ooc, I didn't _care_ , because I was writing to have fun. And while in reality I'll never be able to go back to that flippant idgaf attitude (and on some levels that's probably for the best), I would like to go back to actually enjoying myself and being fulfilled by my writing rather than only getting anxious. Cause at the end of the day, I don't get paid for this, this isn't a _job_. It's a hobby and it's supposed to be fun before anything else. 
> 
> So I'm also gifting this thing to Sithy because they've helped inspire me to try to aim for that impossible "have fun" bar. When I read their fics I can tell that they have so much fun writing their stuff, and that's made me realize that I've lost sight of that. I'm sorry that this fic isn't the greatest, but I wanted to kinda dedicate something to you for helping me out in that way. Hope you enjoy it! *finger guns*


End file.
